>keep thinking there must be a Scottish equivalent, a song air perhaps,
>which is perfect for the job - but WHAT IS IT?
Taladh Chriosda (Christ Child Lullaby) is pretty simple, yet a nice
tune. Getting beginner fiddle students to do slurs with it was hard
though, and it sounds a bit choppy without them.
I think you're on the right track with polkas, Nigel. Slow tunes
like the above might be okay for adults (although I hear that even
adults get sick of Morag of Dunvegan after a week at the Cape Breton
Gaelic College), but I find that kids always want to play faster
tunes anyway. Polkas are much easier to manage than reels at first.
The teachers in the schools around here resort to Boil Them Cabbage
Down, which I can't stand to do; I mean, this is Nova Scotia, not
the Southern USA. Oh! There is a good tune from Newfoundland that
one of the violin teachers in school used. It's I's the B'Y ("I's
the b'y that builds the boat and I's the b'y that sails her....).
Maybe that's too North American for you though!
Here's one last offering, which is still not what you're looking for,
but is not too hard and is a nice tune: The Old Highland Laddie (like
Donkey Riding, only better). It's hexatonic and repetitive, but
still has more notes than what you wanted.
- Kate D.
--
http://www.DunGreenMusic.com
Halifax, Nova Scotia
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